Finally, after some long months of rumors, we get to discover it: the most powerful Mercedes V8 engine and the 2020 Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series, a carryover from the GT3 race car. Text: Luca W., Mercedes-AMG GmbH © Images: Mercedes-AMG GmbH, Quora ©
An amazing and agressive bodywork
The car aerodynamics and design directly stems from the GT3 race car, with a huge rear spoiler, aggressive, scooped, carbon fiber bonnet and a very well wrought, carbon fiber, adjustable front splitter. Added to that, we can notice the dive planes, increasing front downforce and also grip. We are not going to detail all the aerodynamic elements, but we know it creates 400 kilograms of downforce at 250 km/h (!). An impressive figure.
Historically, the Black Series has been synonymous with a very special type of car since 2006, and for all six previous car from this series. Uncompromisingly sporty, with an expressive design and the most consistent technology transfer from motorsport to series production. In one word: hardcore.
The Mercedes AMG-GT Black Series offers the most exciting engine ever
Hardcore discharges also in the engine bay. The 4.0-litre biturbo is equipped with a ‘flat’ crankshaft, in order to increase power, torque, and throttle response.
“The new GT Black Series is our latest automotive highlight and continues a tradition established in 2006. The sixth version of its kind is another AMG milestone and impressive proof of the incredible development expertise in Affalterbach. I am proud of the team who have created a unique super sports car, which now represents the absolute peak of our successful GT family. The performance, looks and driving dynamics of the GT Black Series are second to none. This project was a fantastic end to my work at AMG, for which I am truly thankful.”
Tobias Moers, Chairman of the Board at Mercedes-AMG GmbH
What is a ‘flat’ crankshaft?
More precisely, a usual V8 engine is ‘cross planed’, where the coupled 4 crank pins form a 90-degree angle. For this one, all crank pins form a 180-degree angle, which is why it is named ‘flat-plane’ instead of ‘cross-plane’. This kind of architecture has been common in high-end supercars like Ferrari, and more recently was introduced in the Ford Shelby GT350.
Ignition in the flat-plane V8 jumps from one cylinder bank to the next, which further improves the gas cycle. This creates uniformly oscillating gas columns in the exhaust tract and on the intake side, whose resonance can easily be used to increase performance. An even greater advantage is a more agile throttle response, but a big inconvenient is that it tends to lose the burbly noise, which has been part of the AMG DNA for the past years. We are really curious to hear this engine in reality, see how this major architecture change, particulate filters and new EU noise regulations will affect it.
The new V8 engine achieves 730hp and delivers a maximum torque of 800 Nm at 2000-6000 rpm (WHAT A RANGE!). New camshafts and exhaust manifolds are adapted to the new firing order and further improve the gas cycle. Regardless of the two twin scrolled turbochargers, of course. It allows the car to shoot 0 to 100 km/h in 3.2 seconds, and to 200 km/h in under 9 seconds. The top speed is 325 km/h.
The Mercedes AMG GT Black Series goes with performance and hardcore
Mercedes-AMG didn’t stop the aerodynamics or the engine. The engineers also had a look at the suspensions and fitted carbon fiber in some parts. The front torsion bar and the shear panels are fully made out of it. Talking about carbon fiber, AMG continued to push this material even further throughout the car: tunnel, drive shaft, tailgate, transmission mount, bonnet, aerofoil (rear spoiler) and so many more. Furthermore, this latest Black Series allows manual adjustments for front and rear camber. This feature is rare on modern (super)cars.
Cherry on the cake, the AMG TRACTION CONTROL is now available in 9 levels: level 1 is for driving in the wet with high safety reserves while level 9 allows maximum slip on the rear axle. These can be changed on the beautiful center yellow wheel, used for selection.
Mercedes-AMG aims at Porsche, Ferrari, McLaren and other supercars
Should other supercar manufacturers be worried about this new AMG pinnacle? Of course, they should. A 730hp, lightweight, almost track-only car definitely should cause them some perplexity. Yet, both Mercedes and Porsche have a disadvantage in regard to the other supercars, due to their architecture (front and rear engined). This can make them underperform compared to a mid-mounted engine architecture berlinetta, which balance will be much easier to control under heavy circumstances. We guess the only mediator in this hardcore battle is probably the Nordschleife. So we hope someone will take the Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series to a little journey there.
In the meantime, Mercedes-AMG communicated a price tag of €289,000 taxes not included. Surprised? Check out Porsche, Ferrari, and McLaren prices. And there are no information yet on how many of this new limited AMG GT will come out of Affalterbach. Given how previous Black Series sustained very well the interest, if you are one of the lucky people that AMG called to offer an AMG GT Black Series slot, we would highly recommend securing it. Especially as rumors go that it might just be the last V8 supercar from the group…
Instead, check out the Mercedes AMG GT Black Series gallery and video just below!
